


One and Only You.

by baeconandeggs



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Mild Smut, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-07 12:45:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14671389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeconandeggs/pseuds/baeconandeggs
Summary: Baekhyun is a psychologist who can’t treat himself. Who would’ve thought that the man who hurt him once would be the person who finally puzzled up the pieces of his broken heart again? Oh, the irony.





	One and Only You.

**Author's Note:**

> **Author:** [splendidpcy (AFF)](https://www.asianfanfics.com/profile/view/1769088)  
>  **Prompt #:** BAE443
> 
> **Disclaimer: baeconandeggs/the mods is/are not the author/s of this story. Authors will be credited and tagged after reveals.** The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> **Author's Note:** Massive thank you to the mods who were very understanding to me when I wrote my very first fic of mine! This was so nerve-wrecking for me to do as if it’s my very first public fic. To the prompter, I’m sorry if this turns out to be very cheesy and I deeply apologize for not giving the prompt any justice. I hope you guys can enjoy this fic as much as I had fun writing it!

It is unexpectedly freezing cold outside as Baekhyun walked out of the hospital he’s working in after his shift ended. The breezy wind of Seoul is taunting Baekhyun right now. It’s only September, why the hell did it get so cold? Baekhyun increases his pace as he walks towards the bus stop in front of the hospital. It’s just his bad luck that his car decided to be broken today. it’s been very hectic at work, with all the reporters coming to the hospital to do interviews with Baekhyun and the other Head of Departments in the hospital. It’s just so tiring that all Baekhyun wants to do right now is sleep. Because he hasn’t slept in two days and it’s driving him crazy tired. He’s been so overwhelmed by work that he also forgot to check his phone for the past two days. Minseok and Jongdae would definitely kill him once they meet because he’s gonna ditch them again this Friday. But who the hell cares because Baekhyun is too tired. 

Baekhyun was waiting for the bus to arrive, when suddenly he heard his name being called out loud. “Baekhyun you little shit get on the car right now!!” 

It’s Minseok. Hell no. Another sleepless night indeed. Baekhyun enters Minseok’s car quickly. He was freezing, so it’s nice to get some warmth in Minseok’s car. “Thanks, Minseok. I thought I’d die of freezing” Baekhyun thanks Minseok half-heartedly, because he’s not thankful with the fact that his friend is taking him out to drink when all he wants is just sleep. 

“No problem. Thanks for ditching me and Jongdae last week though. We’re going big tonight. No rejections.”Baekhyun stays silent. He can’t do anything about it. And maybe he does need a little drink. 

……..Definitely not a little. By only 11 p.m., Baekhyun finished his third bottle of soju, meanwhile Jongdae and Minseok completely sober. 

“So what do we do now with this kid?” Jongdae asks. “Well, it’s either you or me who’s gonna take him home. And for your information, I picked him up this evening so I suppose it’s your job now” Minseok answers with a chuckle. 

“Well alright. But you gotta help me bring his ass to my car or I’m gonna drag his body all way through the car and you don’t want me to look like a fucking psychopath, do you?” Jongdae answered, Minseok only sighs. 

Baekhyun wakes up the next morning feeling like a complete shit. All his body hurts, mentally and physically. He got a sore throat and caught a cold. His body shivers as the room was freezing cold and he didn’t sleep with a blanket on last night. He didn’t even remember how the hell did he get to his apartment last night. Must be Jongdae and Minseok, he thinks. He walks up to the kitchen, getting himself a cup of water that felt like a waterfall coming from heaven once he drinks it. He checks his phone soon afterwards. 

10 missed calls. 40 unread messages. All coming from Minseok and Jongdae. 

From Jongdae: You little shit, you owe me your life now. Take care of your body bud, ain’t going to drag ur drunk ass ever again 

From Minseok: Drinks and foods definitely on you next week. Thanks for passing out last night. 

Baekhyun sighs. He’s too tired to be true. The hospital has been a chaos for the past week, so many reporters came by to get a report of the hospital for being awarded the title of “Best Healthcare Center in Seoul”, the most prestigious award a hospital director could ever ask for. Of course Baekhyun is happy, the hospital that he works in is getting famous and thus it’ll get more patients that will trust the hospital. But the bad thing is, he will get even busier than he already is right now. Plus, he’s trying to finish his PhD. And in that moment he realized he is doomed. No more social life, he believe. 

Just when Baekhyun wanted to knock off on the sofa, his phone rings. It’s from Junmyeon, the Head of Department of the Neurosurgeon. He has bad feelings about this. 

“Hello?” “ _Baekhyun, come to hospital now. Hurry, we have KBS coming today and you know it’s a big deal. The Minister of Health is coming too, so you better hurry up_ ” Junmyeon says in a high pitched voice. “What the hell? Why wasn’t I informed about this? I didn’t prepare anything!” Baekhyun panicks. There’s no way that he’s going to the hospital in this state. “ _I did inform you, you didn’t even answer me. So I called you just to make sure you knew. You better come or someone’s getting fired_ ” Junmyeon says with a threatening voice. “Alri—“ 

Junmyeon hung up right Baekhyun could answer. Just as much as he hates going to work on a Saturday, there’s no way he’s getting fired just because of his lazy ass. He quickly takes a shower and get dressed to the hospital. 

****** 

When all the interviews are finished, Baekhyun can sigh a relieve. And he can finally go home, he thought. He’s just so goddamn tired with work, and also his ongoing thesis for his PHD. it’s such a bad idea to do work and PHD at the same time but Baekhyun couldn’t do anything else. He needs to pay for his own living. He needs to survive. 

Baekhyun was sitting on his chair, head on the desk, when he hears a knock on the door. He jumped out of his seat and trying to make his appearance looks presentable. 

“Go in” Baekhyun says softly, voice still hoarse. 

It’s one of his co-worker, Sooyoung, a young lady with good manners and the only one who actually knocks on Baekhyun’s door before going into his office, unlike his friends. 

“Baekhyun, I think someone’s looking for you downstairs. A man,—“ “Didn’t I do all the interviews already? Why are the reporters keep coming here?” Baekhyun protests. “No, it’s not the reporters, Baekhyun.” Sooyoung answered sharply. “Who the hell is it then? As good as my memory is, I don’t recall having friends who actually cares about me to an extent of visiting me at work..” “I don’t- We don’t know. He’s pretty tall, and good looking I guess? We didn’t let him go upstairs because neither of us know or recognize him. You should check on him yourself.” Sooyoung then excused herself out of Baekhyun’s office. 

Baekhyun has a bad feeling about this. Who the hell it might be? Someone? Wanting to meet him at work? He has no shift on Saturday morning, so it’s surely not one of his clients. As he approaches the receptionist he asked the girl on duty if there’s someone looking for him and just when the girl was about to answer, Baekhyun hears another person answering his question. 

“Baekhyun, it’s me. I was the one looking for you.” 

When Baekhyun turned around to see who it is, his world collapsed. He was caught off guard by the presence of a certain giant standing, right in front of him. His body freezes, unabling him to move. His feet glued on the floor as he watches the giant walks towards him. 

Park Chanyeol. 

Nothing has changed. Well, physically, at least. Chanyeol is still as tall as he was in high school, maybe taller, or Baekhyun is just the one sinking. His skin still glows, his brown eyes shines perfectly, and his brown permed hair is still as bouncy. 

“W-what the hell are you doing here Ch—“ “Hey. Long time no see.” 

Baekhyun’s biggest nightmare is coming to reality. And he knows he’s fucked up. All the memories he tried to leave behind are now coming back at him like a freaking tsunami. The memories are becoming so vivid that it hurts Baekhyun just for him to imagine it. Baekhyun does not realize how he has been staring at Chanyeol for the past 30 seconds now, and that Chanyeol has called his name for exactly three times but he didn’t budge. 

“Baekhyun, hey hey-” “Can we go somewhere to talk? I’ll take my stuffs upstairs, you wait here. I won’t take long, promise. Just wait." 

Baekhyun rushes off back to his office before Chanyeol could even speak a word. He was left there, speechless, and confused. But he waited anyways. 

_Like he always did, even after these seven years._

Baekhyun appeared in Chanyeol’s vision after a while. Baekhyun led their way to the nearest Starbucks a few blocks away from the hospital. The walk was silent, because they couldn’t bear to hold a conversation without also bearing the awkwardness between them. Once they arrive, they ordered their drinks, and eventually seat near the window. 

Baekhyun gathered up his courage and tries his best to start the conversation. 

“So, how have you been?” 

_A good star_ t, he thinks. 

“Well, I went to college to get a degree in journalism, graduated, and my dad got me a job in his company. He was tired of seeing me clinging onto him, so he decided to sent me off here to KBS so that I can be independent at least once in my life. I love photography more though, but dad didn’t want me to focus on that. So I took journalism instead.” 

“Interesting.” Baekhyun replies as he sips in his hot caramel latte. 

“How about you, Baekhyun? What have you been up to?” Chanyeol asks shyly. He still doesn’t know how to approach Baekhyun after all these years. 

“Nothing much. Studied psychology for the past six years, got my masters degree so that I can work in the hospital. And i’m trying to finish my PHD now. Nothing interesting, really.” Baekhyun answers him with a flat tone while sipping in his coffee. Baekhyun’s too shocked to actually see Chanyeol in the eyes. 

They stay silent after Baekhyun finished off his answer for a good five minutes, until Chanyeol finally confront Baekhyun once again with his questions. “Baekhyun are you mad at me?” 

Baekhyun freezes. 

“Hey, Baekhyun answer me” 

Baekhyun is definitely not on his right mind. 

“Sorry, what was that?” “I asked, are you mad at me?” 

Oh hell no. _I’m mad at myself._

“No no, not at all. I’m just currently so overwhelmed by work and then suddenly you appeared out of nowhere after God knows how long. I just don’t know where to start because there are so many things that we don’t know about each other after separating for what? Seven years? I’m not even sure. I’m sorry if I appear to be rude but really, I thought you were dead or something. No offense” 

“Ha, I wish I was. I honestly had no idea that we would eventually meet again like this. I was assigned to report the hospital you’re working in, and I saw the list of names of the Head of Department. Your name was there, and I thought I was dreaming. I know there can be hundreds of Byun Baekhyun in this city, but you know, fate wanted us to meet again” 

Chanyeol laughs at his own sentence not knowing that it made Baekhyun blushes too. “So are you staying in Seoul for good, or just for a few months?” Baekhyun asks. Genuinely curious. 

“A few months. I don’t think I can handle the lifestyle here..” 

“Good for you. I want to move but I need to finish my PHD first so i’m basically stuck for the next two years. I miss London though.” “Wait what? You went to London? Since when?” “Um, after high school?….” Chanyeol didn’t know that Baekhyun went to London for college. Not even his friends told him. 

“Oh. I didn’t know” 

“I'm sorry I didn’t tell you..” 

“No it’s fine, I understand. that’s cool though, I’ve always loved London, never got the chance to visit again.” 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol talked for almost three hours, even though everytime they finish a topic, they would stay silent. The walls are still so high to hold a long, deep conversation. They are almost strangers again. God, it’s been too long that Baekhyun doesn’t even remember how handome (and hot) Chanyeol is. Chanyeol too, doesn’t remember how fluffy Baekhyun is. The Baekhyun he’s facing right now looks way younger than the Baekhyun he knew back then in high school. Call it magic, Chanyeol thinks Baekhyun is aging backwards. He really looks like he’s 17 while in fact he’s almost 27. 

Baekhyun couldn’t stand being there for any minute longer now, so he told Chanyeol he wants to go home, before Chanyeol catches him off guard once again. 

“I miss you.” Chanyeol blatantly said that out of nowhere. He deeply regrets it now. _You’re so dumb Park. You’re so fucking dumb,_

Baekhyun just smiled as his respond, but saying goodbye eventually. 

“See you soon, Chanyeol.”. 

******* 

7 years ago. 

Chanyeol goes back to the dorm looking like a total shit. He’s drunk, but not too drunk that he still remembers his own identity. He went out with some of his basketball friends to the bar a few blocks away from school, after successfully sneaking out and bribed the security guards with 50 bucks for letting him out. Chanyeol sees Baekhyun’s figure sleeping in his bed, not knowing that Baekhyun’s actually awake. 

“Did you have fun?” Baekhyun asks softly, definitely caught Chanyeol off-guard. “Baekhyun why are you awake? I told you not to wait for me.” Chanyeol panics. He’s definitely getting scolded and he’s ready for that. 

“I wasn’t. Just couldn’t sleep, that’s all. You should clean up first, you smell like alcohol. Be careful though.” 

“I will.” Chanyeol rushes off to the toilet, cleaning himself up. He makes sure there’s no more alcohol scent left in his body so that Baekhyun would be comfortable. Once he’s finished, he gets back to Baekhyun who’s still wide awake. 

“Want me to sleep with you tonight?” Chanyeol offers. He usually doesn’t ask and just proceed to tuck himself into Baekhyun’s bed. But tonight, he feels like he needs reassurance. 

“No it’s fine, I don’t want you to catch a cold from me.” Baekhyun answers softly. Voice almost unheard. He’s too tired to talk. Chanyeol, on the other hand, jolts of surprise as he didn’t know that his boyfriend is sick. “Wait what? You’re sick? Why didn’t you tell me Baek I could’ve stayed here and not—“ 

“Chanyeol, I’m fine. You should sleep. You have tournaments tomorrow. You should have enough rest.” 

“But Baek—“ 

“Good night, Chanyeol”. 

Just like that, Baekhyun forces himself to close his eyes, while tears are running from his eyes non-stop. Chanyeol too, slowly putting himself into the darkness. 

The next morning, Chanyeol leaves for the tournament at seven in the morning, leaving a sleeping Baekhyun behind. Once Baekhyun wakes up, he got a message from Chanyeol saying that it’s okay if he can’t come to the tournament because Baekhyun is sick. Baekhyun smiles, and continue himself to the shower. 

Baekhyun still went. 

That’s when he knew Chanyeol was seeing someone else, Kim Jongin, in particular. The school’s basketball captain. He knew something was off when Chanyeol started to hang out at night, giving reasons of studying overnight with his other friends. He did not expect Chanyeol to betray him like this. Not by cheating on him. 

Baekhyun went back to the dorm and cries himself in the bathroom, water running from the sink so that his voice could not be heard. He know Chanyeol won’t be going home until midnight, so he’s safe. 

Beakhyun just wants to be alone. Alone from the world. He feels like shit. He feels like he lost everything. He feels like the world just betrayed him so greatly. He loves Chanyeol with his whole heart, with every cells in his body. He loves Chanyeol so much, he does not want to let go. He can’t bear to let Chanyeol go, even though Chanyeol surely doesn’t feel the same way anymore. All the first times that Baekhyun did with Chanyeol doesn’t matter anymore, because Chanyeol has found someone else. Someone that makes him happy, with the same passion and hobby as him. Unlike Baekhyun, who always complains about Chanyeol being too busy with basketball and not spending time with him enough. Unlike Baekhyun who likes to study in the library after school and not play outdoor sports with Chanyeol instead. Truth be told, Jongin is the one who’s perfect for Chanyeol. Totally. Baekhyun realizes that. But he’s not ready to say goodbye to Chanyeol yet. He’s not entirely sure that Chanyeol and Jongin are dating, but he’s almost sure. Sure enough that his relationship with Chanyeol isn’t going anywhere. 

Just as Baekhyun expected, Chanyeol comes back at eleven at night. Baekhyun still awake, doing his statistics report that needs to be finished on Sunday night. 

“Babe, why are you still awake you’re still sick you’re supposed to be sleep—“ “I'm fine now, Chanyeol. It’s okay. Congrats on the win, by the way” “Thanks. Wait, what, how do you know?” “I came earlier. But you looked so busy and I didn’t want to disturb you so I just went back to the dorm to sleep some more.” “Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve dropped you off you know” “I'm not a kid, Chanyeol. I can take care of myself.” 

Chanyeol doesn’t reply. He knows something is definitely wrong with Baekhyun, but he doesn’t know what. Chanyeol tries so hard to figure it out but he ended up falling asleep because he was so tired. Baekhyun looked at his boyfriend’s sleeping figure. Tears eventually broke down as he stares at his giant boyfriend. He kisses Chanyeol’s forehead, thinking his boyfriend was asleep, but he got dragged into Chanyeol’s bad and eventually trapped in Chanyeol’s embrace. 

“Hey Baekhyun, what’s wrong? I know something’s up. Tell me what’s wrong, babe” “Nothing, just tired..” Baekhyun’s voice is almost unheard. “Hey I’m not stupid, c’mon tell me—“ “Can I sleep here tonight?” Baekhyun asks softly, while looking up to Chanyeol’s face from below. He’s resting his head on Chanyeol’s chest, arms wrapped around Chanyeol’s waist. “You don’t even need to ask, love.” Chanyeol then kisses Baekhyun chastely on the lips and both of them eventually falling asleep. 

\--- 

Baekhyun wakes up the next morning in an empty bed. It’s a Sunday, Chanyeol shouldn’t have any plans, because they usually hang out every Sunday, may it be in the dorm or outiside. Baekhyun’s phone buzzes as he was walking towards the bathroom. 

From: Chanyeol I’m at the basketball gathering. Sorry for not telling you, didn’t want to wake you up. I’ll be back soon. I’ll bring lots of foods. 

Baekhyun lets out a big sigh. 

After showering, he opens his laptop to check his email and jolts out of surprise. 

From: King’s College London To: byunbaekhyun614@gmail.com Dear Baekhyun, Congratulations! It is our great pleasure to offer you admission to King’s College London for the Fall Quarter 2010. You have been admitted to the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience with Psychology as your academic major. 

_What the fuck?_ Baekhyun must be dreaming. There’s no way that he got accepted to King’s. This can’t be real. 

Baekhyun reads the email once again, and he realized that he’s not dreaming. He really got accepted into one of his dream colleges. He called his mother, telling her the good news and he has never felt so happy and content since so long. He’s proud of himself because all of his hard work is paid off. 

The problem is, Chanyeol doesn’t know. And he can’t know. Chanyeol doesn’t know that Baekhyun applied to London for college. All he knew was that Baekhyun and him are going to Korea University, and that they would stay together for a long time. He can’t tell Chanyeol about this. Not now, when Chanyeol doesn’t even care anymore. 

Baekhyun went out to tell the good news to Jongdae and Minseok, when he was caught off guard by seeing Chanyeol and Jongin intimately close in the end of the hallway. Baekhyun went back to his room, and cried himself once again. 

_It’s time._ Baekhyun thinks. He can’t get hurt anymore. He needs to let go. And sometimes, love is about letting go. 

Baekhyun doesn’t return that night, and it left Chanyeol full of worries because his boyfriend never left the dorm without him not knowing. Chanyeol called Baekhyun a bunch of times, but Baekhyun didn’t answer. Chanyeol waited in the room, panicking. He called Jongdae and Minseok, but they didn’t know where Baekhyun went, and instead blaming Chanyeol for Baekhyun’s absence. When Chanyeol was about to head out to look for Baekhyun, Baekhyun walks into their room. Smelling like alcohol and cigarettes. 

“Baekhyun holy fuck where the fuck have you been?! Do you know how worried I was? Why didn’t you tell me? And what is this smell— Did you smoke?? Your body smells like cigarettes.. and alcohol. Baekhyun what the fuck did you do?!!” 

“Trying to get you out of my head.” Baekhyun answers lazily. “What the fuck Baekhyun what do you mean? Come to your fucking senses!” Chanyeol shouts so loud that Baekhyun actually jumps a little. “YOU come to your fucking sense, Chanyeol. I’m tired of being abandoned. I’m not some kind of toy that you can use anytime. I’m your boyfriend!” Baekhyun replies angrily. he’s angry at Chanyeol, but also angry at himself for being so selfish. “I know that, so why didn’t you tell me what the hell did you do!” “Why should I tell you when you never let me know what you did with your new gang bang” Baekhyun doesn’t know why the word gang bang came out from his mouth. It’s so not him. “Baekhyun! What are you talking about! What is this, oh my god Baekhyun for fucks sake why are there hickeys? Baekhyun, I need explanation” Chanyeol touches Baekhyun’s neck to check if those were really hickeys. Baekhyun hitches off, and covered it with his jacket. “Yes, yes I made out with someone else. Why? Are you going to scold me? Scold me all you want Chanyeol. I don’t care anymore. You can live on your own now, don’t worry about me. I’ll move out tomorrow so that you can be alone. I’ve settled everything with the principal, so worry about nothing.” “Baekhyun what the hell are you talking about! You’re drunk and you don’t know what you’re saying! I’m still your boyfriend!” Chanyeol’s close to crying. But he held it back. “Yes I DO know what I’m saying, and I’m leaving. Our relationship isn’t going anywhere. It’s not gonna work. It’s not healthy, I hurt you, and you hurt me. We can’t live like this anymore” 

_Yes we can, if you didn’t cheat on me, Chanyeol. Why did you cheat on me?_

“Yes we can, we can fix some things that’s messed up, and you explain to me what the hell are you thinking about that made you want to break up with me!” Chanyeol’s tone is getting higher, the tension too, increased. “I love you, Chanyeol. I really do. But we’re too different. You love the outdoors, while I stay in my room all the time. You love exploring the nature, I’d rather explore all the books in the library. You want to be bold, but I can’t do that. I’m not ready yet.” Baekhyun means it. He loves Baekhyun with his whole heart, his whole body, with his whole soul. “Well that, I can wait you know.” _No you can’t. You already found someone else._ “I'm sorry, Chanyeol. But I already made up my mind.” _Please make me stay…i love you too much.._ “Baby…” Chanyeol can’t get the words out of his mouth anymore. 

Chanyeol grabs Baekhyun and hugs him tight. So tight that Baekhyun feels suffocated and he couldn’t breathe. But he wants to enjoy the last moments of him and Chanyeol together, before he completely disappears from Chanyeol’s life, so that he can move on. And Chanyeol too, can move on. (Or he has already, Baekhyun doesn’t know anymore). Chanyeol pulls Baekhyun’s hair back with his one hand, while the other hand is placed in Baekhyun’s waist, like where it belonged. Chanyeol leans in to a kiss. It was a chaste kiss, but turned into an angry one. Chanyeol was eager, and Baekhyun was aggressive. Baekhyun was crying, and Chanyeol was holding back his tears. Baekhyun pulls away, and Chanyeol didn’t stop him. 

And so Baekhyun left Chanyeol that night. And he doesn’t return. At all. 

***** 

Baekhyun returned to work after taking leave for three days because he caught a damn cold, as a result of not sleeping for three days straight. He was welcomed with Sooyoung’s smile as he enters his office and starts his day. Just when he arrived, he got a call from the Hospital board that he needed to go to a meeting. 

What a nice way to start the week. 

The meeting was as per usual, talks about the development of each Department. Nothing much changed from the Psychology Department, maybe increasing clients, but nothing more. The Board was happy, because after all, Baekhyun’s Department was the one who made the most money last year, so they tried to emphasize on improving certain aspects within the Psychology Department. 

After the meeting ended, it’s lunchtime. Baekhyun’s starving to death. As perfect as it can get, Jongdae called him at the perfect timing. 

“Hey crackhead do you wanna go grab lunch?” “Hell yes please I’m starving and please pick me up I’ll be waiting in the lobby THANK YOU BYEE” Just like that, Baekhyun hangs up. He knows Jongdae is annoyed, but Jongdae will pick him up anyways. His car hasn’t yet fixed, so he’s using the public transportation nowadays. Jongdae works at a law firm not so far from the hospital Baekhyun works in. Jongdae has always been so eager to become a lawyer, and so he’s a successful one now. Baekhyun’s happy for him, he spent all his life listening to Jongdae whining about wanting to be a lawyer and now here he is. 

After ten minutes of waiting, Jongdae’s car finally appeared. Baekhyun’s rushing to get inside because it is so freaking cold outside and he is stupid enough to only wear one layer of clothing that day. 

“What took you so long I almost got hypothermia out there” Baekhyun complains. “I literally got here 10 minutes right after our call ended. Where are we going?” “Anywhere, really. I’m just so damn hungry i’m about to eat myself too” They arrived at an Italian restaurant twenty minutes from the hospital. It’s not a fancy one, but they love the food there. Jongdae ordered the Fettuccini Carbonara and Baekhyun ordered a whole pizza for himself. He is that hungry. “You know Chanyeol’s back right? I met him last week and he told me you guys met so I decided to also invite him out today. he’s on the way, might arrive soon” Baekhyun choked on his water. “You did WHAT?” “Woah woah, slow down. I invited him here, you guys are friends right? Nothing serious?” “Well yes we are but do you know how long has it been? We couldn’t even hold a conversation longer than five minutes last time? How am I gonna survive this time?” “Well now you should be grateful this friend in front of you are very good at keeping conversation and making the atmosphere alive.” 

That’s right. Jongdae is always whining but he’s actually good with words. He can talk for hours, but keeping the conversation interesting. Baekhyun envies him sometimes. He wants that kind of socializing skills too. But whining 24/7 is definitely not needed. 

When their food arrived, Chanyeol also arrived. Chanyeol took a seat next to Jongdae, and ordered the same thing as Jongdae. Jongdae can’t talk much as his mouth is filled with food, but once he’s finished, he starts talking again. 

“So, Chanyeol, how’s KBS so far?” Jongdae asks out of curiosity. He’s actually not that interested in Chanyeol’s job, but that’s a great way to start a conversation. “So far so good. The people there are nice, so I like it. Not as much as in Osaka though, but I think I’ve adapted faster than I thought, so it’s all good I guess.” Chanyeol responds. “You look very hungry there, Baekhyun.” Chanyeol says, slightly laughing. Baekhyun looks up to Chanyeol, not realizing he was so into his pizza that he didn’t recall Chanyeol was there. “Yeah I am, haven’t eaten since this morning” Baekhyun answers Chanyeol as he bites another chunk of pizza to his mouth. 

They talked mostly about work, exchanging about informations about each other’s work. Chanyeol mostly did the talking because he explained how his life in Japan was, and Jongdae as well as Baekhyun just listened. 

_Always very talkative, Park._

When they were busy laughing, Jongdae got a call from the office saying he needs to go back right now because there’s a missing case files for the trial tomorrow, and he’s practically doomed. “Baekhyun, I’m sorry I can’t drop you at the hospital. This trial is my ride or die and it’s really important so I need to go now. I’ll pay for today, don’t worry. I’ll leave you first, you two go catch up some more.” And Jongdae leaves without allowing Baekhyun and Chanyeol to say a word. 

They stay frozen in their seat, confused. But Chanyeol has always been a good talker. “Hey Baekhyun, I’ll drop you off to the hospital if you want. No no, I mean, I’ll drop you off to the hospital. Period. ” Chanyeol says softly. “It's fine, really, you don’t have to.” Baekhyun responds quickly. “There's no way I’m leaving you in the cold weather. Let’s go, lunch time’s almost over.” Chanyeol drags Baekhyun up from his seat, leading the way to his car. Chanyeol opening the door for Baekhyun and Baekhyun just obeys silently. But his heart is not silent at all. 

The car ride is rather silent. Both Baekhyun and Chanyeol still don’t know how to properly hold a conversation. Once they reach the hospital, Baekhyun thanked Chanyeol for giving him a ride. But Chanyeol held Baekhyun back when Baekhyun was about to open the door. 

“Baekhyun.” Baekhyun turned his face, “Hm?” “May I have your number please? I don’t have anyone else I know in Korea except you, Jongdae and Minseok. I mean, I know, but you know I haven’t met all of them in such a long time. So I don’t really have their number. Just in case, if you don’t mind” Chanyeol asks, hesitantly. he’s not sure if the wording’s right, but he doesn’t care. 

“Sure, give me your phone.” Baekhyun smiles back at Chanyeol, after putting his number in Chanyeol’s phone. Baekhyun then said goodbye for real, and got back to his work. 

_After all these years, Park Chanyeol. You still give me butterflies in my stomach. Still leaving me speechless with your actions._

***** 

Chanyeol went back to his office, smiling like an idiot. _He finally got Baekhyun’s number._ He really looks like an idiot because he’s been staring at his phone for the past five minutes and everyone’s looking at him with a disgust look. 

“What the hell is wrong with him? Should we be worried?” One of his colleague said. “Nah, probably just got hooked up or something.” Another colleague added. Chanyeol didn’t realize how long he’s been staring at his phone when suddenly his boss tiptoed over him to see what’s in his phone. 

“Oh my god boss you startled me.” “Well, you should be. You better start working on the report I told you to finish today or else I’d take your phone away just like my mom took my phone away when I was 13” “Will do, Sir!” Chanyeol runs to his desk and starts working again. He has two reports to finish, and one article to finish, but still missing a bit photography shots. He needs to also work on that. 

Chanyeol has an idea. He’s gonna ask Baekhyun to a date. _Date? What date? Aren’t they practically strangers with memories now?_ Chanyeol finishes his work at 7 pm sharp, becoming the last man standing in the office. He doesn’t want to bring his work home, so he stayed in the office just a little bit longer. Once he’s finished, he called Baekhyun, hoping for an answer. 

And dear Lord he swears he was so happy when he hears Baekhyun’s voice. 

“Hey, Chanyeol, what’s wrong?” “Um well, I’m sorry if this is so out of the blue… but are you free tonight?” “I just finished my shift and has nothing planned ahead. Why?” “uh, do you perhaps, want to go with me to take some pictures around city hall? If you don’t mind of course. Just not really familiar with the area, I’m asking for a help here. I asked Jongdae and Minseok but they’re out having a date night.” Chanyeol doesn’t know what he’s saying because he’s blushing. He’s not even sure if his words even make sense. He even lied about Minseok and Jongdae. He hears Baekhyun chuckles. “Yeah sure, but if you want to pick me up here” Baekhyun answers with a light tone. “Driver's coming!” Chanyeol hangs up, rushing to his car and to pick Baekhyun up. Baekhyun’s confused, but happy. 

_Let’s give it another chance._

Chanyeol arrived around 20 minutes later at the hospital. Baekhyun enters Chanyeol’s car silently, and lead the way to Chanyeol. It’s a rush hour, so the road’s packed. The atmosphere in the car is still awkward, so Baekhyun tried to break the ice. 

“Why did you wanna go to city hall? Only buildings are there?” Baekhyun asks. “Exactly. I have an article to post in the website tomorrow, but still missing a few shots. My boss knew I was into photography so he asked me to use original photos that I took personally, not some Getty images that I can get from google.” Chanyeol answers with a slight laugh. “That’s pretty cool. And interesting. Didn’t know you took photography so seriously. It’s cool though, you’re still as passionate about something that you love.” “No no, I rarely take pictures. Only in some occasions, I do freelances and stuffs” “Still play basketball?” Baekhyun asks. “Nope, officially retired after high school.” Chanyeol smiles. He wanted to tell Baekhyun that he stopped right after Baekhyun left, but this isn’t a proper time. Baekhyun nods in response, he doesn’t look at Chanyeol the whole time, just looking at his right to see the cars and the buildings outside. He would never get tired of living in Seoul. The buildings, the people, the weather, he loves it all. 

“Do you know any cool hidden spots here?” Chanyeol asks shyly. “Uh, I don’t know if you’ll like it but there’s a place I often visit to relieve my stress, and it’s quite beautiful if you don’t mind” “Lead the way, Byun.” 

They entered a small alleyway near the Gwanghamun square. They parked the car in the parking lot in front of 7-11 and walked through the small road. It’s kind of high, but Baekhyun knows it’s worth it. 

“Don’t turn around, wait til' we reach the top” Baekhyun looks down on Chanyeol who’s a bit far behind him. “Haven’t done this much exercise in a long time. Thanks though now I know I need so start again considering I’m turning 27 soon.” Chanyeol responds with a sarcastic tone. But he means it. He needs to get his ass on the gym or else he won’t survive. 

Once they reached the top, after fifteen minutes of walking, Baekhyun told Chanyeol to turn around. 

“Oh wow. This is.... beautiful.” “I know. Been here for almost a hundred times already but I’m still mesmerized by the view.” “Thank you, Baekhyun. Thank you so much. I love it so much. Now I can kiss ass to my boss tomorrow at work by giving nice pictures of Seoul.” Chanyeol smiles, Baekhyun responds with a smile too. 

They stayed there for about twenty minutes, admiring the beauty of Seoul from the top. There they can see the Namsan tower, the tall skyscraper and also the Hanok village. It’s such a beautiful combination. And the full moon just completes its beauty that night. 

“It’s freezing, let’s go.” Chanyeol grabs Baekhyun by the hand and runs a little. Baekhyun was surprised by the sudden kinship but he complies. It was indeed very cold and Baekhyun needs warmth. He’s shivering so much that Chanyeol even notices that Baekhyun is trembling. Chanyeol takes off his long coat, and puts it in Baekhyun’s body so that the smaller can feel warm. 

“Hey you don’t need to do this I’m fine I swear just a little cold” Baekhyun protests a bit. But he ain’t gonna lie that the coat is extremely warm. And big. Because Chanyeol is twelve centimeters taller than him. “Little cold my ass, you’re literally shivering, Baekhyun. I’m fine just wear it. And we can walk slowly if you want.” Chanyeol reassures Baekhyun that he’s fine. He wears enough layers of clothes that can keep his body warm without the coat, and he can’t bear the view of Baekhyun shivering. “Thank you” Baekhyun says softly, trying to hide his blushing face from Chanyeol. Chanyeol looks undoubtedly good today, with his brown hair pushed back and he’s wearing a black knit sweater with a white shirt underneath. It fits him perfectly. 

Once they got to the car, Chanyeol turned on the heater quickly. Baekhyun’s still shivering, so Chanyeol grabs his hand and put the smaller’s hand in between his giant palm. 

Baekhyun doesn’t budge, because a Chanyeol’s touch is so warm and comfortable. _He misses it_

“Feeling better now?” Chanyeol asks, hands still intertwined with Baekhyun’s. “Definitely.” Baekhyun smiles. “We better go then. It’s almost midnight.” Baekhyun nods in agreement. He’s already sleepy, but he can’t leave Chanyeol driving alone. “Oh right. Where do you live Baekhyun? Forgot to ask in case you fall asleep” “Just drop me by the Cheongdam station. I’ll walk from there” “No freaking way. Type your address or I’m kidnapping you to my apartment.” 

_I don’t really mind…_

Baekhyun types his address in the GPS thing, and he falls asleep. Chanyeol drives to Baekhyun’s apartment in silence. Baekhyun’s figure sleeping so calmly right next to him is so admiring to watch. He got distracted for a few times in the red light, so busy looking at the smaller’s body sleeping that he forgot to hit the pedals. He reached Baekhyun’s apartment, but he doesn’t want to wake Baekhyun up because Baekhyun is just so damn cute when he’s sleeping and he still looks the same as seven years ago. After five minutes, Baekhyun wakes up. 

“Where am I... wait oh Lord Chanyeol I’m so sorry I fell asleep” Baekhyun panics, still yawning. Chanyeol chuckles a little, “It’s fine. We’re here now.” “Do you want to stay over? It’s almost one and I’m worried you might fall asleep on the way” Baekhyun doesn’t know why he offers Chanyeol to stay in the first place. But he’s worried about Chanyeol. “I have work tomorrow. Maybe next time?” Chanyeol gave Baekhyun a little smirk. Baekhyun saw it, and he’s blushing again. “My door’s open twenty-four seven.” Baekhyun waves at Chanyeol before entering his apartment building, smiling. 

***** 

Friday means going out with Jongdae and Minseok as usual. But today Baekhyun has to pay because he was pretty much dead last week and had to burden both of them. He goes to the hospital making sure he’s wearing enough layers unlike yesterday. It’s not too windy compared to yesterday, but still, it’s cold. He’s happy that it’s finally weekend because one, more sleep, and two, more food. The past few weeks have been so hectic so Baekhyun thinks it’s nice to finally catch up on his best friends, and dramas. But first, work. And coffee. 

Baekhyun dropped by the nearest Starbucks to pick up his usual hot venti Americano so that he can be fully awake at work. As a good senior he is, he also picked up some coffee for his co-workers. Everyone greeted him with a smile and thank you, saying he’s the best senior ever bla bla bla. But honestly it’s only because of the coffee. Baekhyun then finally meet his clients who already made an appointment that day, some new and some are Baekhyun’s usual patients. He likes talking to other people, listening to others and give them advices one by one. That’s the only reason why Baekhyun decided to pursue a career in Psychology, really. He feels like he can’t find any other career that suits him better than being a Psychologist. 

Friday went by so fast because it’s suddenly five p.m. and Baekhyun has successfully finished his shift without sleeping, thanks to the americano. He took off his white hospital coat and put on his long black wool coat to go to Itaewon to meet Jongdae and Minseok for their usual ritual a.k.a chicken and beer on Friday night. Little did Baekhyun know that Jongdae also invited Chanyeol this time and Baekhyun came unprepared because Baekhyun really looked like shit and Chanyeol looked so fucking good. “Hey Baekhyun, I’m sorry if I didn’t tell you that I’m coming and sorry for interrupting you guys’ rituals” Chanyeol greets Baekhyun as the latter sits next to the giant. “No no it’s fine, I’m glad I finally have a company after two years of third-wheeling. Did you guys ordered already?” He meat it. It’s been two years since Jongdae and Minseok got together and Baekhyun is glad that Chanyeol’s there so he has someone to talk to when Jongdae and Minseok enter their own world. 

Or maybe Baekhyun is happy because Chanyeol is just simply there. With him. 

“We did, don’t forget that you’re paying tonight.” Minseok answered Baekhyun’s question to Chanyeol as he sits next to Jongdae. Baekhyun rolls his eyes because he’s going to be fucking broke after tonight because god dammit his friends eat A LOT. Like literally, they can order 10 servings of beef and still not full. 

The four of them got tipsy when it was just nine p.m. Jongdae and Minseok are already on their own world, Baekhyun and Chanyeol was just staring at them the whole time. Baekhyun couldn’t bare the whole awkward atmosphere so he tries to break the wall between him and Chanyeol and started the conversation. 

“Are you driving?” Baekhyun really is not a good talker. “Oh no, I didn’t bring my car today because Jongdae told me not to. He’s afraid I’d be drunk driving..” Chanyeol looks embarrassed. He is a light drinker and Jongdae is not fully wrong. “I’ll drop you off then.” Baekhyun offers. “It's fine, you don’t have to—“ “It was a statement not an offer, so you can’t reject me this time.” Baekhyun smirks. “Alright then.” Chanyeol’s confused. “Should we get out of here? I think Jongdae and Minseok already ditched us anyways.” “Anything you want, Baekhyun.” “Alright I’m gonna pay first and then we’ll go. Just wait a bit." 

Just like that, Baekhyun and Chanyeol left the restaurant also leaving Jongdae and Minseok behind. They entered Baekhyun’s car silently, Baekhyun’s heart beating fast and so is Chanyeol’s. Baekhyun is nervous, Chanyeol knows it. 

“Can you type your address?” Baekhyun brushes off the awkwardness between them, again. He just doesn’t know why he’s so bad at talking to Chanyeol. He’s a psychologist, he should be good at talking to people, no matter who it is. But Chanyeol is just different. “I actually live nearby from your apartment. Just go to the direction of your apartment first then I’ll show you my building” Chanyeol answers. “Okay.” 

It was actually pretty late already, so the streets have calmed down a little. It only took fifteen minutes from Itaewon to Cheongdam. Baekhyun and Chanyeol talked a little about their work, but nothing interesting. Once they reached Cheongdam-dong, Chanyeol led the way to show Baekhyun his apartment building. It’s really near, maybe five minutes walking distance. 

“Thanks for dropping me off. I’ll buy you coffee next time.” Chanyeol thanks Baekhyun while searching for his apartment key in his pockets and his backpack. Chanyeol should really buy the padlock as soon as possible because key is so freaking hard to find and it’s very inconvenient. 

“No worries, looking forward to see you every Friday from now on” Baekhyun smiles. “Shit.” Chanyeol still trying to find his key inside his pockets. “What happened?” Baekhyun asks, confused. “I think I left my key inside. And my cousin is out of town…” Chanyeol panics. How the hell is he going to sleep tonight if he doesn’t have the key and Kyungsoo is out of town and—- 

“You can sleep at my place if you want..?” Baekhyun says softly. He’s not sure if it’s the right thing to offer, but he can’t let Chanyeol sleeps outside his apartment. “No no it’s okay, you’ve done so many things for me already I’ll just call the landlord and—“ “Chanyeol, it’s midnight already. Half of the people in Seoul are probably asleep. I have a spare room, you can rest there. Jongdae and Minseok also sleep there occasionally. It’s fine.” Baekhyun reassures Chanyeol to just sleep at his place. It’s tweve-thirty midnight, and Baekhyun doesn’t want Chanyeol to just interrupt the sleeping landlords just because Chanyeol forgot his goddamn keys in his apartments. “Thank you.. I’ll really treat you to a nice restaurant next time.” 

They drove off to Baekhyun’s apartment and in just the blink of an eye, they arrived. It’s really close, maybe like a ten minutes walk will do. They entered Baekhyun’s apartment with a silence. No words exchanged, just silence. 

“Didn’t know you can be this neat” Chanyeol teases Baekhyun. “I changed completely once I got into college. Don’t underestimate me.” “I’m not. Just surprised a bit. I always did the cleaning back then you know.” Chanyeol teases Baekhyun a little bit. He misses those times when they used to live together. Just Baekhyun and Chanyeol under one roof, and just two young individuals who ~~were~~ are in love. 

“The spare bedroom is next to mine. You can sleep there, I’m very tired so I’d probably knocked off after I reach my bed. If you need anything, just wake me up. Feel free to take the snacks and use the bathroom. Make yourself feel at home, Chanyeol.” 

“Got it.” 

But Baekhyun can’t sleep. He’s so tired but he can’t close his eyes for more than five seconds. It feels like he just drank two bottles of coffee and not alcohol because he’s wide awake. He hears Chanyeol’s footsteps in the living room, so he’s probably awake too. Baekhyun got out of his bed to his living room. And there’s Chanyeol just silently watching something (that is probably a sad movie because Chanyeol is in the edge of crying) in his laptop and he jumped out of his seat after he saw Baekhyun standing in front of him. 

“I thought you were asleep, Baek. You startled me there. Thought there was a ghost or something.” “Dunno. Couldn’t close my eyes and I’m bored and I heard your footsteps so I just came here instead. What are you watching?” “Please don’t call me lame but I’m watching Zootopia—“ 

“You really haven’t changed much, have you?” Baekhyun smiles. Chanyeol doesn’t know how to answer Baekhyun because he swears to god that is the most mesmerizing smile he has ever seen. Chanyeol loves Baekhyun, so much that he used to have a collection of cartoon dvds while they were in high school and he would drag Baekhyun to watch it everyday to the point that Baekhyun would rather be asleep early rather than bearing with cry-baby Chanyeol in the middle of the night on a school day. 

“Y-yo-you wanna watch it with me?” Chanyeol asks with a hesitation in his voice. 

“Sure.” Baekhyun quickly sits next to Chanyeol. He never really likes cartoons. If it wasn’t for Chanyeol, Baekhyun doesn’t think he’d watch it. 

They watched the movie silently because Baekhyun doesn’t want to bother Chanyeol who is completely absorbed into the movie. Chanyeol cried, but he quickly wipes his tear so Baekhyun doesn’t know. 

Baekhyun fell asleep with his head lying on the couch, but Chanyeol doesn’t want to wake Baekhyun up because he looked so tired. But he also doesn’t want Baekhyun to sleep all night in that position. Without more thinking, Chanyeol carried sleeping Baekhyun to his bedroom carefully, not wanting to wake him up. 

But Baekhyun was awake. The whole time Chanyeol carried him to his bedroom. 

When Chanyeol put Baekhyun’s body in his bed, he hears a soft whisper. 

“Thank you.” _shit._ “Baekhyun I’m sorry I didn’t meant to wake you up but I can’t—“ “Can you stay here for tonight, please?” 

_Hell to the fucking yes._ “Okay”. 

Just like that, Baekhyun pulls Chanyeol to his bed. They were facing each other, but Baekhyun was keeping his eyes closed most of the times because he was so sleepy and he’s still not used to being so close to Chanyeol. 

“Can I ask you something?” Chanyeol asks softly, afraid of being rejected. “You already did.” Baekhyun smiles. Chanyeol rolls his eyes, but still asking the question anyways. 

“Why did you break up with me all of a sudden that time?” Baekhyun stays silent. Not wanting to give the answer, but Chanyeol needs one. He smiles briefly before he answers. “I'll tell you everything.” Baekhyun’s voice is soft. He wants to explain everything, but he doesn’t know how. 

“You know we were so childish and everything. We fought everyday over the stupidest thing. We were so selfish, and always wanted to win on our own. I mean, I was selfish. I knew sooner or later we would need to break up because we were so different. We wanted different things, and the way we see our future was pretty much a reciprocal of each other.” 

“That wouldn’t be the only reason, I believe?” Chanyeol hums. 

“I'm not finished yet.” Baekhyun responded short after. "I started feeling bored, I distracted myself a lot from you, that’s why I was so busy doing other things outside school. To keep myself distant from you. I knew you were bored too. You started to take basketball seriously and we rarely hang out anymore. I felt empty, I felt lost, but I was glad you found something you were passionate about. You were so into it, so I didn’t want to bother you. But,” Baekhyun stops. He can’t hold his tears back anymore. It still hurts, thinking about the day he went to Chanyeol’s basketball tournament and seeing Chanyeol being so close to other man. 

“But…?” 

Baekhyun takes a deep breathe. He continues. "I actually found out about Jongin too. When I went to your tournament, I saw you being so close, so intimate with him, so close that I didn’t dare to interrupt you. That’s when I knew you started seeing someone else. When I came back, I opened my emails and got my acceptance letters at Kings. I was so happy, but I didn’t know how to tell you and how to explain to you about the whole situation. So I just left, and I’m sorry.” Baekhyun felt like his explanation wasn’t enough. But he can’t talk anymore. He just cries. 

“But I didn’t actually date Jongin back then. Yes I did see him often, but that’s all. Nothing important and romantic. We were only good friends.” “With benefits?” Baekhyun chuckles a little. “No I’m serious Baek. We became good friends after I joined basketball, that’s it. I don’t know who the hell told you about me dating Jongin but that wasn’t true. At all.” 

Chanyeol seems offended. His tone became more aggressive, trying to defend himself from all the counters Baekhyun threw at him. 

“Why didn’t you tell me then?” Baekhyun asks, tears still streaming down his face. 

“Because you never gave me the chance to. You just left, I didn’t even know you went to London because your friends also avoided me, so I was really left there without any explanation.” Baekhyun nods. It’s true though. He never gave Chanyeol the chance to even explain about everything because he was so selfish. It’s always his fault. It’s always been his fault. 

“I'm sorry. I really am.” That’s all Baekhyun can say. Nothing would change even if he explains further. “It’s okay. I’m sorry for not explaining to you soon enough about Jongin too. And I shouldn’t have let my basketball activities bothered us too, you know. I shouldn’t have let you feel left out.” 

“Can we not talk about this please?” 

Chanyeol gathered up his courage to finally say what he’s been wanting to say, “I miss you, Baekhyun. And you know I loved you right? I was so lost when you left all of a sudden. I asked all of your friends where you went but they didn’t tell me. I left the basketball team after that, because I didn’t feel like I had enough energy to continue doing it. My grades went down, and my dad was hella mad at me. So he decided to sent me off to Japan. I distracted myself with a lot of things there, but I couldn’t forget you. Not even a bit.” Chanyeol starts crying, because he was so happy to finally let things out of his mouth. 

Just like that, Baekhyun pulls Chanyeol closer to his embrace. He put his head on Chanyeol’s chest, and wrapped his hands around Chanyeol’s waist, so tight he doesn’t want to let go. 

“I've missed you too. Glad you’re back.” Baekhyun says with his trembling voice. “Let's start things all over again, shall we?” 

Baekhyun nods in acceptance. He knows it’s too soon to start things again, especially with Chanyeol. But he couldn’t help it, he still loves Chanyeol. He still thinks about him, and that’s the reason why Baekhyun hasn’t opened himself up to others and he hasn’t been in a relationship after he left Chanyeol. He became an introvert and never trust anyone after Chanyeol ‘cheated’ on him. Both him and Chanyeol did the wrong thing, but trying won’t hurt right? Or maybe it will? Time will let them know. 

***** 

The next morning, Chanyeol woke up first, he made his way to the kitchen to make breakfast. Baekhyun doesn’t have anything in his fridge except for eggs and kimchi. Chanyeol decided to just make Kimchi fried rice and he hopes it’s good enough for Baekhyun to eat. He can’t really cook, but he tried his best. After he finished cooking, he brought the food to Baekhyun’s bedroom, but Baekhyun is still sleeping. And he looks so cute. Chanyeol wants to pinch his cheek. 

Chanyeol just waits there, admiring Baekhyun’s beauty silently. But not long after that, Baekhyun wakes up. 

“Good morning.” Chanyeol greets Baekhyun with a smile. He knows he looks like shit, but Baekhyun has seen the worst of him so he doesn’t really care. “mmmorning." Baekhyun’s eyes still half-opened, he’s so sleepy. “I made kimchi fried rice for breakfast. I can’t really cook but I tried my best so I hope it’s edible. At least pretend that it is so you won’t hurt me..” “You don’t have to do this you know. But thank you. And it looks good, so I believe it’ll taste good.” 

The food was actually nice, thanks to the kimchi. They both were still so sleepy so they didn’t really have much conversation while eating. But once they’re finished, Chanyeol wakes Baekhyun up with a single question. 

“Did you date anyone after we broke up?” Chanyeol asks without a single doubt in his tone. The words just came out from his mouth. 

Baekhyun looks up to Chanyeol, startled, and laughed. “Nope. No one.” “Why not?” Baekhyun was silent, he’s trying to find a good way to answer Chanyeol’s question, but nothing adds up. 

“I guess I was too into you that I couldn’t open myself up to others. And you were the only person that made me open my heart. I couldn’t really trust anyone after that, so I’d rather be alone and not rely on other person. I started to lose my faith in love too, I guess. So I started to believe that there’s no such things as love. And so I enjoyed my own company, and to live on my own.” Baekhyun smiles. “What about you? Did you date anyone?” 

“Nah, too busy. And my dad tried to hook me up with some girls but you know, not my type. And there’s only one person that I’ve been wanting to chase but he suddenly went MIA and I waited for seven years for this time to finally come because God really loves me and decided to let me meet him again after all these years.” 

They both laughed at Chanyeol’s answer. Baekhyun seemed relieved to know that Chanyeol hasn’t really dated anyone after him, and Chanyeol was happy too. But silence haunts them again. “I’ll prove you wrong Baekhyun. I promise.” 

“You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep, you know.” Baekhyun says while eating his breakfast, avoiding eye contacts with Chanyeol because he’s so nervous. 

“I'm betting my whole life on this. Can’t lose another chance to win you back.” 

“I'm counting on you then.” Baekhyun smiles. He really trusts Chanyeol on this. Because he never trusted anyone as much as he trusted Chanyeol. So he really hopes he and Chanyeol won’t fuck it up this time. 

***** 

Chanyeol often visits Baekhyun after work just to check on him. He also stays over in Baekhyun’s apartment after going out with Jongdae and Minseok every Friday. Sometimes, Chanyeol made his moves to Baekhyun but Baekhyun is always hesitant. He’s not ready yet, not ready to trust Chanyeol fully because there’s still years that blocks them apart. He doesn’t want to make anymore mistake and get hurt again. Not with the same person. 

Chanyeol is trying his best to prove Baekhyun that it’s gonna be different this time. No more childish fights, no more of them being selfish to each other. Chanyeol knows it’s hard for Baekhyun to trust him, and Chanyeol is frustrated too. But Chanyeol’s heart is telling him that this time, it’s going to be worth it. 

***** 

Baekhyun was in the middle of his shift when Chanyeol called him all of a sudden. He can’t answer it of course, because he’s talking to his patient and he doesn’t want his patient to think that he is not a responsible psychologist who answers his phone in the middle of a session. Baekhyun calls Chanyeol back to finally asks him what the hell is up because Chanyeol had called him 10 times for the past hour. By the first ring, Chanyeol picks up. “What’s wrong?” Baekhyun asks with a high-pitched voice. He’s kind of annoyed because no one has ever called him more than five times before. 

“ _Are you free this weekend?_ ” Chanyeol sounded so excited, like he’s been waiting for Baekhyun to answer _yes_ “Did you just really call me 10 times to ask me if I’m free or not on the weekend?” “ _Yes. Yes I did, and I need your answer now_ ” Chanyeol sounds too excited to be true. “Well I don’t have anything planned yet so I guess I am? But what’s happening why are you—“ “ _Let's go to Busan, yeah? I’ll organize everything so just—_ “ “You've got to be kidding me, Chanyeol.” “ _No I’m serious. I’ll buy the KTX tickets and book the hotel tonight. You don’t need to worry about anything._ ” “What if I don’t want to?” Baekhyun teases. “ _Guess I’ll go alone then.._ ” “You crazy little punk.” “ _I'll take that as a yes, huh? See you soon, Baekhyun! I’ll pick you up today so wait for me, byee!_ ” 

Just like that, Chanyeol hangs up the call. Chanyeol is always full of surprises ever since Baekhyun knew him back in high school. He loves spontaneous trips, the ones when they don’t really have anything planned ahead so they just go with how life takes them. Baekhyun doesn’t mind going around with Chanyeol, not knowing where they’re actually going, because they will surely have a good time since Chanyeol is a good ‘tour-guide’. So this time, Baekhyun really doesn’t mind. It’s just that Baekhyun isn’t really used to Chanyeol being so clingy yet. 

When Baekhyun’s shifts are over, he went to the Neurosurgeon department just to check up on Junmyeon. Junmyeon has been feeling so stressed out lately and he genuinely wants to help Junmyeon. It was two weeks ago when Baekhyun found out that Junmyeon was about to end his life when he went to the hospital’s rooftop to get some fresh air. Junmyeon was crying, he already put his white coat on the floor and was about to jump. Baekhyun immediately stopped him, and comforted him, telling him it’s all going to pass. Junmyeon was looked so tired and vulnerable, so Baekhyun dropped him off to Junmyeon’s apartment just in case.They knew each other back then on Baekhyun’s first day working on the hospital. Junmyeon took really good care of Baekhyun and Baekhyun wants to repay Junmyeon for his kindness. He took the elevator to go to the 11th floor to go the neurosurgeon department, but when he arrived, Junmyeon wasn’t in his office. One of the doctor, Yixing, approached Baekhyun just in time. 

“Are you looking for Junmyeon?” Yixing asked shyly. Yixing’s cute, but definitely not Baekhyun’s type. 

“Uhm.. yes.. do you know where he is?” “He’s inside the surgery room. It was an emergency, so he had to leave and perform the surgery. Do you want me to say anything for him?” “No, Yixing, it’s fine. Thank you though. I’ll just text him later. I’m going first, see you later.” When Baekhyun was about to leave, Yixing called his name. Baekhyun turned around and he’s confused. 

“Baekhyun?” “Yes?” “Help me to help Junmyeon, please?” Yixing said softly. 

“Of course. I’ll try my best. Take good care of Junmyeon, yeah? I’ll come often from now on” Baekhyun smiles. He pats Yixing’s shoulder to reassure Yixing that everything is gonna be alright and that Baekhyun also wants to help Junmyeon as much as Yixing wants to help him. Yixing smiles back, and Baekhyun quickly runs to the lobby because Chanyeol is waiting already. 

“Sorry I took a bit long, was talking to my friend about something important.” Baekhyun says to Chanyeol while wearing his seatbelt. “No big deal. Already waited for you for seven years so it was nothing.” 

Baekhyun rolls his eyes and chuckles. He turns his head to look at Chanyeol to give him a disgusted look but Baekhyun is so mesmerized by Chanyeol’s beauty and he forgot what he was about to say instantly. Chanyeol looked so good like this, his brown hair pushed back neatly, and he’s driving a freaking range rover. How hot can someone be? 

“Don’t stare at me like that. I might just stop right here in the middle of the road just to kiss you right now.” “I dare you.” Chanyeol lets out a big shigh. “Well I’m sorry but I really don’t want to die at this age because I barely achieved anything” Chanyeol is trying so hard to concentrate. He really wants to kiss Baekhyun right now because Baekhyun is just so irresistible and he misses Baekhyun’s lips so much. But he wants to make his first kiss with Baekhyun after these seven years special, so he’s saving it for later. 

They arrived at Jongno 3-ga after a 30 minutes car ride. The road wasn’t as packed as usual, so they arrived early. Chanyeol parked his car at nearby parking lot so they could walk along the way to find the restaurant that Chanyeol has booked for the two. 

“Are you sure we’re on the right way?” Baekhyun asks as they’re walking in a very quiet alley. He really thinks Chanyeol is going to kidnap him at this point. 

“Yes, just trust me.” They finally arrived at the restaurant Chanyeol was talking about. It’s a fancy steak house restaurant, and Baekhyun hasn’t been here before, which is impressive because Baekhyun loves to hangout at Jongno 3-ga every weekend and he always tries new restaurants to visit. They sit at the assigned seat that Chanyeol has booked, which is a window-seat at the second floor. They can see Namsam Tower from their seat, and the skyscrapers and also the Hanok Village. A very Seoul look. 

“What's this dinner for?” Baekhyun asks as soon as they ordered the food and the waiter went away. “Just want to treat you. It’s been a long time since our last dinner together isn’t it?” “It’s not necessary you know. We could’ve ordered two boxes of pizzas and a bottle of wine and I’d be happy.” “A nice dinner once in a while won’t hurt…” Chanyeol pouts. Baekhyun loves the look in Chanyeol’s face when he pouts. It’s just so damn cute. 

“Thank you, Chanyeol. Thank you.” Baekhyun takes Chanyeol’s hands and holds it gently while rubbing the back of Chanyeol’s palms. He really is thankful for Chanyeol because he’s been so happy lately. And that is because of Chanyeol’s presence. It’s funny because if this happened seven years ago, while they were in high school, Baekhyun would do anything just to get away from Chanyeol and sleep. 

Their steak and wine arrived just in time. They were silent most of the times because the food was so good that they forgot to speak to each other and talk. Once they are half finished, Baekhyun finally starts the conversation. 

“How did you know about this place? I’m impressed..” Chanyeol laughs at Baekhyun’s question. “We’re supposed to go here together.” 

“What?” Baekhyun almost choked on his beef. 

“I wanted to take you here for our second anniversary back in high school. I reserved the place and everything but then you suddenly left. So I went here alone instead because we can’t really cancelled a reservation here.” Chanyeol answers casually while eating his steak. 

Baekhyun puts his knife and form down. He lets out a big sigh before talking back to Chanyeol. 

“It’s always been my fault isn’t it?” “Baekhyun don’t say that.. It’s all in the past it doesn’t matter anymore because I also made so many mistakes that broke us apart. Let’s just finish our food and go to your place, hm?” Chanyeol gives Baekhyun a reassuring smile. Baekhyun just nods and silently continues to eat. 

Once they’re finished, Chanyeol paid for their food. It’s getting really cold outside, and Baekhyun is shivering because he’s only wearing a thin trench coat. Being a gentleman Chanyeol is, Chanyeol put his coat on top of Baekhyun’s body and puts his arm around Baekhyun’s back to keep him warmer. Little did Chanyeol know, Baekhyun is silently crying. 

_Just how sweet Chanyeol could be? Just how stupid Baekhyun was to let go of Chanyeol so easily?_

Baekhyun drags Chanyeol to a smaller alley all of a sudden and it really startled Chanyeol. Chanyeol almost tripped caused by the sudden move of Baekhyun dragging him. “Baekhyun what are you doing—“ 

Baekhyun stops Chanyeol from talking and hugs him tight by Chanyeol’s waist. He buries his head on the taller’s chest and lets out his cries. Chanyeol is confused, but he eventually puts his arm around Baekhyun’s body. Baekhyun can’t stop crying, he feels so useless. He doesn’t deserve a Park Chanyeol in his life. He’s too kind for the world. 

“Baekhyun…” Chanyeol whispers softly in Baekhyun’s ear while gently stroking Baekhyun’s head on his chest. He feels so comfortable like this. “I really am sorry for being such a jerk. I don’t think I deserve you..” 

“Baekhyun baby look at me” Chanyeol lifts Baekhyun’s head up to face him. Baekhyun’s face is so small in Chanyeol’s hands. “There’s no ‘I don’t deserve you’ kind of thing now. We both made a mistake and we can’t change it even if we want to. Let’s forget the past and walk in our new page, shall we? We’re mature enough already so I’m sure we won’t make all the mistakes we did before hm? I don’t want another—“ 

Before Chanyeol can continue talking, Baekhyun kissed him. Baekhyun. Kissed. Him. 

_Is he dreaming?_

Without a doubt, Chanyeol kisses back. It felt like their first kiss all over again because it’s been so long since they both kissed. It’s very chaste, and slow. There’s still years and high walls between them that is yet to destroy. Slowly but surely, they’ll get there. 

“Let’s go back before someone sees us, and it’s freezing to hell.” Chanyeol pulls back, and just when Baekhyun was about to walk, Chanyeol carried his body up to a bridal style ride. Baekhyun tried to get down, but Chanyeol is too strong. Chanyeol carried Baekhyun until they reached Chanyeol’s car and laughed along the way. 

“Aren’t I heavy? I gained a lot of weight in case you didn’t notice” Baekhyun teases Chanyeol with his question. “Heavy my ass. You’re still as light as before.” “What ass?” Baekhyun laughs and Chanyeol seems offended. He pretended to throw Baekhyun to the air and that makes Baekhyun screams a bit. 

Once they reached Baekhyun’s apartment, they quickly go upstairs and once Baekhyun closed the door, Chanyeol quickly puts his arm around Baekhyun’s waist and kissing him so hungrily. Baekhyun puts his arm around Chanyeol’s neck and leads him to his bedroom. Baekhyun is not sure whether this is a good idea or not because he still thinks it’s too fast. But it’s Chanyeol after all. The person who made him opened up his heart, the person who’s selflessly giving up everything just for Baekhyun to be happy. The person who took gentle care of Baekhyun. 

But Chanyeol is also the person who broke Baekhyun’s heart for the first time. But it doesn’t matter, because everything else about Chanyeol is just so lovely that made Baekhyun craves for Chanyeol in every second of his life. 

Once they entered Baekhyun’s bedroom, Chanyeol stops himself from kissing Baekhyun. “Are you sure about this?” Chanyeol asks Baekhyun and waits for a confirmation. He doesn’t want Baekhyun to regret his decision because Chanyeol knows that Baekhyun is still not sure about their relationship. 

“Shut up and just take your clothes off already” Baekhyun continues to kiss Chanyeol in different places. He unbuttons Chanyeol’s shirt and took it off. Chanyeol too, took off Baekhyun’s shirt and kisses Baekhyun’s nipples as soon as Baekhyun is shirtless. Chanyeol went down to kiss Baekhyun’s not-so-perfect abs and starts to tease Baekhyun when he licks it. Chanyeol unbuttons Baekhyun’s belt next, and took off his pants. Baekhyun’s already hard, but Chanyeol wants to go slow. He wants to take care of Baekhyun, and he wants both of them to experience their first time perfectly. 

“You’re gonna be my first…” Baekhyun says softly. Chanyeol smiles, because Baekhyun is his first too. “I’ll take care of you.” Chanyeol pulls away from Baekhyun as he takes the lube and condoms from his bag. “Damn you really came prepared for this huh?” Baekhyun teases Chanyeol as Chanyeol walks towards him and puts Baekhyun’s body on the bed. He laughs back in an instance. 

“As always.” Chanyeol leans in to kiss Baekhyun before he puts his first finger into Baekhyun’s hole. Baekhyun’s body starts to shiver, but he loves it. He loves the way Chanyeol takes care of him. Before Baekhyun knew it, Chanyeol puts on his second finger and Baekhyun moans in return. Chanyeol seems to be so experienced about this, in fact it’s also his first time. Chanyeol prepares Baekhyun as best as he can and finally pulls out his finger when he thinks they’re both ready. 

Chanyeol finally took off his boxers and puts on the lube and condoms to himself, and slowly putting his body up against Baekhyun, before he finally slides into Baekhyun. Chanyeol moves slowly, not wanting to hurt Baekhyun with his uneven rhythm. Baekhyun’s arms move to hang on to Chanyeol’s shoulders, and slowly leaning to kiss Chanyeol. Baekhyun’s already lost in lust, but Chanyeol wants to make Baekhyun more satisfied. He increases his pace, and that makes Baekhyun groans in response. It doesn’t hurt as much because Chanyeol has prepared Baekhyun so well. But Baekhyun wants Chanyeol to feel him too. 

“Let me.. Let me ride you.” Baekhyun whispers. Chanyeol nods in agreements, and pulls out from Baekhyun before lying his body against the pillows. Baekhyun slowly climbs over Chanyeol’s body before sliding down on Chanyeol’s cock, both hands on Chanyeol’s waist to balance himself. He rides Chanyeol slowly, not sure whether if he’s doing it right or not. But Baekhyun is unexpectedly good because Chanyeol looks so lost after only a few thrusts. Baekhyun finally thrusts harder and Chanyeol finally came into the condom, followed by Baekhyun whose cum spreads out on Chanyeol’s abdomen. Baekhyun falls into Chanyeol’s body after a few more thrusts. They’re both sweating, making the air in between them warmer. Baekhyun is out of breath, and so is Chanyeol. 

Baekhyun pull himself up and crawls into Chanyeol’s side. Chanyeol takes the opportunity to hug Baekhyun’s body, keeping them closer together. They stayed at the position for almost 10 minutes, Baekhyun almost falling asleep. But he knows he can’t because he needs to clean up. Baekhyun finally broke the silence in between them and drags Chanyeol to the bathroom. 

“We need to clean up, you know. I ain’t sleeping like this.” “uhhh can we stay for five more minutes..” Chanyeol’s eyes are half-opened. He’s so sleepy and he feels like he can’t get his ass to the bathroom. “C’mon Chanyeol, let’s wash up” 

Baekhyun finally succeeded on dragging Chanyeol to the bathroom. They showered together, and Chanyeol initiated a kiss that turned into another make out session in the shower. Once they’re finished, Baekhyun lends Chanyeol his oversized sweatpants and t-shirts that is still too small for Chanyeol’s giant body. 

“Wow you really are a very small person.” Chanyeol says as he stares at himself in the mirror. He looks ridiculous, because Baekhyun’s sweatpants are too short on him. “Hey, I’m not small, I’m average. You’re the one who’s ridiculously big.” Chanyeol and Baekhyun finally tucked themselves into the bed, Chanyeol pulling Baekhyun into his embrace. “Good night baby” Chanyeol says with a soft tone while kissing Baekhyun’s forehead. “Good night, giant.” 

***** 

Baekhyun wakes up the next morning in an empty bed. Chanyeol left early because he needed to go back to his apartment to get his clothes for work. He left a note on Baekhyun’s nightstand saying he had to go back early and he didn’t want to wake Baekhyun up so he just left. 

Thursday is just a regular day at work, Baekhyun meeting with his usual patients and doing meetings with the hospital board. Jongdae asked Baekhyun if he wanted to grab lunch together, but Baekhyun passed on him because he had to go to the meeting with the hospital board. The meeting lasted longer than expected, leaving a starving Baekhyun when it’s finished. He can’t really go out or eat at the cafetaria because his shift hasn’t ended yet, but when he entered his office, he was greeted by a bag of Shake Shacks on top of his desk. He didn’t remember ordering it, and seems like his co-workers didn’t order it also. 

Baekhyun went outside to look for Sooyoung to ask about the food that he received, but he couldn’t find her. Instead, the receptionist called Baekhyun out. 

“Baekhyun, there was someone looking for you and brought foods, I think. But I told him you were in a meeting so he gave me the bags and asked me to give it to you. Did you eat it already?” 

“Who was it?” Baekhyun asks. _Could it be Chanyeol?_ “Didn’t get to ask for his name.. sorry. But he was really tall. Like really, really tall. And he was wearing the KBS badge. If I’m not mistaken, it’s the same guy who was looking for you two months ago.” “Alright then, thank you so much.” 

Baekhyun went back to his office and called Chanyeol to check up on him. On the second ring, Chanyeol picks up Baekhyun’s call. 

“Did you just send me Shake Shack?” Baekhyun asks as soon as Chanyeol picks up. He can hear Chanyeol laughing. “I did. Jongdae asked me to get lunch because you ditched him saying you were in a meeting. Knowing you, you probably haven’t even eaten a proper meal since morning. So I decided to get you that” “Jongdae really can’t keep his mouth shut huh. But thank you so much, I really appreciate it.” “No problem, baby.” Baekhyun can tell Chanyeol has a smirk on his face even though he can’t really see it right now. “When are we going to Busan again?” Baekhyun changes the topic. Chanyeol just said that they’re gonna go to Busan on the weekend but not exactly when. 

“Tomorrow night, our train is at 7:45, your shift ended at 5:30 right? I’ll pick you up, ok?” “How did you know when my shifts ends?” “Did my best research. I’ll see you soon, Baek. Gotta go back to work now..” “Alright, see you tomorrow.” 

Baekhyun is just impressed at how Chanyeol knows everything about him now. Even Baekhyun himself still can’t remember his own schedule. 

Going to Busan tomorrow means Baekhyun has to ditch Jongdae and Minseok to their usual gathering. He texts Jongdae saying he can’t come tomorrow because Chanyeol is gonna drag his ass to Busan. But Jongdae’s response is what Baekhyun didn’t expect to get. 

From: Jongdae I knew already. Went out with Chanyeol for lunch today and he told me everything. Kinda hurt didn’t get to hear the stories from you because I’m supposed to be your best friend. But have fun in my hometown 

_What did Chanyeol tell him?_

To: Jongdae What did Chanyeol say???? What???? 

Not long after, Jongdae responded back. 

From: Jongdae That you guys did it. It’s okay Baek, you don’t have to hide it from us. I’m your best friend huh. 

_Chanyeol told Jongdae what?_

To: Jongdae Damn gotta scold Chanyeol for this. I’ll tell you everything once I get back yo. See you soon brother. 

***** 

Friday started as hectic as usual. Baekhyun’s shift starts early than usual on Fridays, but ends early too. He only has twenty minutes to get his lunch, because his shifts are so packed. But Friday always goes by so quickly, because in the blink of an eye, it’s already five p.m. Baekhyun was taking off his white coat when Chanyeol called him just in time. 

“Are you ready? I’m almost finished with my work so I’ll pick you up in 20 minutes.” “I am. Just take your time, we still have two hours and Seoul station isn’t that far.” “Alright. I’ll call you when I arrive.” 

Baekhyun packs up his things and waits at the hospital’s lobby. He doesn’t have to wait long because Chanyeol arrives just in time. Chanyeol helps Baekhyun to put his stuffs inside his car, though Baekhyun didn’t really need his help. 

“Are you ready?” Chanyeol asks while sounding so excited. Chanyeol has been planning this trip with all his will, because he wants to make it special for Baekhyun. He wants to prove Baekhyun that this time, he won’t make another mistake like he did back in high school. He seriously wants to win Baekhyun’s heart, because he is sure that Baekhyun is the only person that Chanyeol can, and will love. “You sound so excited. Have you ever been there?” “Nope, it’s my first time actually. But my dad’s from there, so he gave me list of places we should visit.” “Sounds great.” 

“You don’t sound very excited.. Are you okay Baek?” “I’m sorry.. I’m just exhausted. And also my friend Junmyeon isn’t in really in a good condition right now and I don’t know how to help him... I’m sorry I’m ruining our trip aren’t I? I’m sorry I shouldn’t really—“ 

Chanyeol kissed Baekhyun’s lips to stop him from talking. Thank God the traffic light is still red, so Chanyeol got the chance to taste Baekhyun’s lips and to stop him from blaming himself further. “Don’t blame yourself. Just rest now, hm?” Chanyeol holds Baekhyun’s hands with his right hand while the other hand is still on the steering wheel. Chanyeol gives a reassuring smile to Baekhyun. Baekhyun just nods in silence. 

Baekhyun checks his phone to see if there’s any important unread messages that he has to reply. When he was about to unlock his phone, a sudden realization came to his mind. 

It’s Chanyeol’s birthday tomorrow. Baekhyun’s eyes widened in surprise. 

“You okay there?” Chanyeol peeks up at Baekhyun. “Yeah, yeah. It was just my boss. Anyways we’re almost there right?” Baekhyun brushes off the topic. He really needs to do something for Chanyeol because Chanyeol has done so much for him and he has to pay him back. But what can he actually do? Chanyeol had planned the trip beforehand and he can’t ruin it. 

“We’re here!!!” Chanyeol turns off his car engine in excitement. He smiles at Baekhyun and give him a kiss in the forehead before getting out of his car. They both parked in the basement and went up to the waiting area right away because they need to board in thirty minutes. Chanyeol really takes care of Baekhyun very well. And Baekhyun feels bad because he can do it all alone, but Chanyeol insisted on carrying it for him. Baekhyun just obeys in silence, because he can’t really fight back to a certain giant in front of him. 

They board on the KTX one hour later and fell asleep right after. Baekhyun is looking outside the window enjoying his very first train ride after three years. He hasn’t gotten the chance to have a personal trip for a while because of work. He wants to at least relax himself on this trip because life in the hospital has been so hectic, plus his on-going and never-ending thesis for his PhD. He turns around to look at Chanyeol sleeping peacefully, Chanyeol’s head on his shoulder. It’s just so calming watching Chanyeol sleeping like this. His face so innocent yet so fierce, it’s like calling Baekhyun to protect him everytime. 

The train ride to Busan took two and a half hours. Chanyeol was asleep most of the times, but Baekhyun loves his views. When they arrived, Chanyeol had already prepared a car for them to rent and initiated on driving even though he has never been there before. 

“Chanyeol, let me drive. You looked so tired and you fell asleep on the train so let me drive this time, okay?” Baekhyun tried to grab the car keys from Chanyeol’s hand but ended up failing anyways because Chanyeol is just too strong. 

“No way, I took you here and there’s no way I’m gonna make my baby drive at this time.” “What did you just call me?” Baekhyun seems offended. “My baby. My big big baby” Chanyeol responses with a flirty smile. “Chanyeol, I’m older than you in case you’ve forgotten my birthday.” Baekhyun rolls his eyes. He doesn’t mind, but he just likes to tease Chanyeol and he hasn’t heard someone calling him by pet names ever since they broke up. “There’s no way I’ve forgotten my baby’s birthday. I still celebrate yours even if we don’t see each other you know.” Chanyeol opens the car door for Baekhyun and lets him go in. He put their bags in the baggage and finally let himself inside the car. 

“So where are we staying?” Baekhyun asks as he scrolls down his phone trying to reply the messages that his co-workers sent him. “I booked an Airbnb already, it’s near Gwangan-li if I’m not mistaken. Can you check the address on my phone?” Chanyeol replies back as he’s trying to reach for his phone on his pockets. “Here, just open it. The passcode is your birthday.” 

“You're so damn cheesy. But thank you I feel honored.” Baekhyun opens Chanyeol’s phone and he opens Chanyeol’s mails to look for the Airbnb confirmation. Once he found it, he typed the address on the GPS navigation. The car rides took only twenty minutes. Busan isn’t as packed as Seoul, and it’s already eleven p.m. when they got there, so the road was empty. 

Chanyeol booked a goddamn penthouse for only one night. “Isn't this too much? We’re only staying here for one night..” Baekhyun complains as he feels bad for not paying anything for this trip. Chanyeol really planned this trip well. 

“Gotta make the best of both worlds.” Chanyeol brings their bags as they walk into the building. They got room at the seventh floor, and the view was mesmerizing. They can see the Gwangan-li bridge, the skyscrapers, the beach, everything. It’s so breathtakingly beautiful. 

“You don’t have to go all out.. I feel bad now because I didn’t prepare anything” Baekhyun stares outside of the window to enjoy his view. Chanyeol hugs him from behind and kiss his head before answering Baekhyun’s complaint. 

“I asked you to come with me, of course you don’t have to prepare anything.” Chanyeol tightens his arms around Baekhyun’s waist and rubs Baekhyun’s little belly softly. “You coming here is more than enough for me, Baek. Now we gotta wash up and sleep before our little adventure tomorrow. We don’t have much time.” “I’ll go first then.” 

Baekhyun is thinking so hard on what to do for Chanyeol’s birthday because it’s happening in fifty minutes. He can’t buy a cake, nor can he buy a pizza or any other food. They brought instant ramyun, and that’s probably the only thing they’re gonna eat tonight. Once he’s finished showering, Chanyeol made a way for himself to the bathroom and took over. Baekhyun went straight to their bedroom and starts to look for tourist attractions in Busan for them to go tomorrow. He was so into it he didn’t realize Chanyeol is done showering and sitting in front of him. 

“Do you want ramyun Baek? I’m a little hungry.” Chanyeol tried to distract Baekhyun but he failed. He snaps his finger to get Baekhyun’s attention and finally Baekhyun is back to his senses. “Ah no, no it’s okay. I’m still full, but I can make it for you—“ “I’ll do it myself. I’ll be right back. Don’t fall asleep on the couch though.” Chanyeol walks away to the kitchen to make himself a ramyun. It’s ten minutes before the date changes to the 27th of November, and Baekhyun’s heart is beating so fast because he hasn’t celebrated Chanyeol’s birthday in so long. He doesn’t know what to do, and he didn’t get Chanyeol anything. Just how terrible is he? 

When the clock ticks at exactly 12 a.m., Baekhyun ran to Chanyeol who was making instant ramyun in the kitchen counter and hugs him tight from the back. Chanyeol who’s startled with the sudden affection almost dropped his ramyun and he coulnd’t move because Baekhyun really hugged him tight, so tight that he’s trapped inside Baekhyun’s tiny arms. 

“Happy birthday, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun greets Chanyeol as he kisses Chanyeol’s shoulder and buries his head in there and rubbing his hands around Chanyeol’s waist. “Sorry I couldn’t prepared anything because you basically kidnapped me here and I couldn't really escape from you.” 

Chanyeol sighs and smiles in response. His heart’s beating inconsistently. “You remember?” “Of course. How can I forget?” Baekhyun answers, still hugging Chanyeol from the back. They stayed at that position for over five minutes because it felt so comfortable that they didn’t want to move. 

“Thank you.” Chanyeol finally initiated to move position, but he just turned around so he can hug Baekhyun properly in his embrace. Baekhyun is so tiny like this, inside Chanyeol’s huge arms. “And you don’t need to prepare anything because you, agreeing to come with me here is more than enough.” Chanyeol kisses Baekhyun’s forehead again and again, it’s his favorite spot to kiss (other than Baekhyun’s lips, of course.). 

“Okay now I’m gonna need to finish making my ramyun first or else it’s gonna get cold, sorry for the inconvenience” Chanyeol slowly loosens up his grip with Baekhyun, and Baekhyun obeys. 

Chanyeol finishes off making his ramyun and Baekhyun just watches silently. Baekhyun went out to the balcony on their room to see the beautiful scenic view of Busan. Baekhyun sits there in silence, he’s letting out all his frustrations out from work just by seeing the beautiful scenery. He doesn’t know when was the last time he was able to just enjoy the world in silence and not worry about anything. Life in Seoul has been so hectic but he’s been so happy lately, because of Chanyeol. He never knew he can open up to others again, after all these years. And it’s always been, and will always be with Park Chanyeol. 

Chanyeol finishes his ramyun in less than five minutes just to join Baekhyun at the balcony. It’s a bit windy outside so he brought his blanket with him just to cover his body in case it gets really bad. Chanyeol sits next to Baekhyun, and puts his blankets on top of his and Baekhyun’s thighs, to make themselves warm. 

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Chanyeol says as he sips in his hot tea. “Yeah, I’ve always loved Busan ever since I was little. It’s just so calming, and relaxing. I really wanna settle here someday.” Baekhyun anwers him, still looking at the view of Gwangan-li bridge and the sea. 

“Baekhyun.” Chanyeol turns his head to look at Baekhyun. “Hmm?” “I love you.” 

Chanyeol didn’t know what he just said. Just what the hell just came out from his mouth. What did he just tell Baekhyun. Why is he so stupid to let those three words came out from his mouth so casually. 

“I'm sorry don’t mind me—“ Baekhyun stops Chanyeol from speaking as he closes the gap between them with a deep, passionate kiss. He never initiated a kiss when it comes to kisses, he never felt brave enough to do so. He has never kissed anyone other than Chanyeol after they broke up, because he couldn’t let himself to. He never loved any other person as much as he loves Chanyeol, because Chanyeol has everything that Baekhyun looks in a person. Chanyeol is all Baekhyun needs in life, and no matter how much he tries to find someone else, it will always be Chanyeol. 

“What’s this for?” Chanyeol whispers in between their breaths. “I love you too.” Baekhyun stops himself for a bit. He puts his head on Chanyeol’s shoulders and continue his speech. 

“I never knew I’d be so attached to you, Chanyeol. I never actually planned to just leave you like that, but a part of me wanted me to just stay the fuck away from you and not disturb you anymore because you found your happiness somewhere else. But who am I kidding to say that I didn’t miss you all these times? I asked Jongdae and Minseok about how were you doing in Japan but they didn’t know. I wanted to ask Jongin but I couldn’t let myself to. And I thought I would get over you eventually, but I was wrong.. You were my first love, my first in everything. So it was hard, and here I am still crazily in love with you even after seven years, and now I realize I don’t need someone else because I have you back.” Baekhyun tried his best not to let tears out of his eyes. He really loves Chanyeol but he just can’t seem to let it out in words and he feels like he hasn’t done enough for Chanyeol. 

“I told you we shouldn’t talk about the past ever again, Baek. Let’s just leave it behind and start things new. Let’s be each other’s firsts again. Let’s protect each other again, and let’s love again. We don’t have to make any promises that we sure know we can’t make, but just being with each other is enough for me. No need to say more ‘I'm sorry’ because there’s nothing to be sorry for. The only thing I can promise you is that my love for you won’t go anywhere else.” Chanyeol means it. Even if he hasn’t seen Baekhyun for so long, he still loves Baekhyun as much as he used to. He won’t fuck things up again this time. He won’t let go the second chance God has given him to be with Baekhyun again. 

“Let’s go back inside. I don’t want to catch a cold.” Chanyeol carries Baekhyun back to their bed, both Chanyeol and Baekhyun giggling and laughing because Baekhyun is tickling Chanyeol and they are just so happily in love with each other. 

***** 

Their trip to Busan went as planned. They spent Chanyeol’s birthday in Busan by visiting every tourist attractions in Busan and ate at the famous Jagalchi Market. Chanyeol loves seafood, and Baekhyun just loves seeing Chanyeol eats. He’s allergic to seafood, but seeing Chanyeol eating so good like this just makes Baekhyun happy and full already. They need to catch the train at six p.m., so they went back to their apartment to pick up their things and go to the Busan Station. 

“Our trip ends too fast. I love it here I don’t wanna go back to work…” Baekhyun pouts as he walks beside Chanyeol in the elevator. “Let's go somewhere else next time. I’ll bring you to Japan. And thank you for giving me the best birthday trip ever. I’m looking forward to our next trip.” Chanyeol says with full confidence in his voice. He will definitely take Baekhyun to Japan for their next trip. “I’m the one who should be thankful, but you’re welcome I guess.” Baekhyun smiles back. 

On their way to Seoul, Baekhyun and Chanyeol didn’t really talk much because they’re both exhausted. Baekhyun fell asleep for a bit but it felt uncomfortable sleeping in the train and he woke up after twenty minutes. 

“When are you going back to Osaka?” Baekhyun asks Chanyeol who’s currently busy playing with his phone and not realizing that Baekhyun has woke up. “Oh you’re awake.. I’ll be going next month but only for two weeks. I’m gonna talk to my dad about me settling in Seoul actually.” “Don’t do that just because of me, Chanyeol. You said you can’t bare the lifestyle in Seoul. Perhaps I can be the one who’s gonna move to Osaka, you’ll never know.” Baekhyun has been thinking to move to another city for a while actually. He loves Seoul, but he feel like he needs a new scenery to look at to, new places to go to. He needs to finish his PhD first, of course, but after that, he really wants to move. 

“Seoul is lovely because of you.” Chanyeol pauses himself, his hands reaching Baekhyun’s fingers to hold him firmly. “And I’m ready to start my new journey here with you.” Chanyeol smiles back to Baekhyun, still holding his hands. He’s not sure whether his decision will be a good one, but he’s sure that Baekhyun will be enough reason for him to stay this time. 

Once they arrived at the Seoul station, they waited for everyone to board off the train so that it won’t be too packed when they go down from the train. Baekhyun went out first, and Chanyeol followed him from behind. 

“Let's go!” Chanyeol shouts in excitement. But they’ve arrived already in Seoul. Where is Chanyeol implying on going? 

“To where?” Baekhyun asks confusedly. 

“My—no no. Our new home.” Chanyeol takes Baekhyun’s hand and leads him the way out. He never felt so happy, so burden-free, and so confident with himself, until now. Because he’s sure, he’s not going to regret his decision anytime soon. Or maybe he never will. 

***** 


End file.
